


Riding Hood

by jongintomyworld



Category: EXO (Band), SuperM
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:01:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22689685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jongintomyworld/pseuds/jongintomyworld
Summary: In the village of Daggerhorn, there was an urban legend no one dared to speak of. Never could they describe or explain the atrocities that happened on that cursed night, the one that changed the fate of the village forever.
Relationships: Kim Jongin | Kai/Oh Sehun
Comments: 14
Kudos: 45





	1. Chapter 1

**_Prologue_ **

Once upon a time there was a little boy who was loved by everyone who looked at him, most of all by his grandmother. And there was not a single thing in the world she would not have given to the child. One Christmas morning, she had given the boy a little hood made of red velvet, one which suited him so well that he refused to wear anything else. From then on, the villagers knew him as Little Red Riding Hood.

**_ONE_**

The leaves rustled quietly, branches swaying as the tall, warm-bodied brunette darts swiftly through the thick foliage. Ragged breaths grow louder with each passing second. Cold sweat beads all over his forehead and chest as he clutches desperately onto his bleeding shoulder.

He should have seen it coming— the red arrow with the pointed silver tip dipped in Wolfsbane, aimed at his heart.

If only he hadn’t been so distracted by those sweet ripe blackberries.

Black spots dance in his vision—taunting. He’s seconds away from passing out, body shaking violently from fighting the effects of the drug.

There’s a searing sensation in his thighs, but the footsteps behind him never cease. 

He runs. 

The sight of a familiar safe house supercharges the adrenaline surging through him and he uses his last spurt of energy to make a sprint for it. He ends up scraping a knee when he slides under the bark of a fallen old oak tree his father once used as a chopping board for the rabbits they caught during the ruthless winter. 

Today, he wonders if he would even live to see another winter. 

He covers his mouth with a dirty hand, biting down on the back of it as he pants quietly.

Seconds tick by silently as his ears pick up on the noises around him. He listens, and the sound of dry leaves blowing in the wind heightens his senses by tenfold.

A pair of dark worn-out boots trudge into his field of vision and the weak brunette holds a bated breath for what comes next. Perhaps if he played dead, whoever it was on the other side would leave him here to rot. 

It was a tantalising idea. 

One he could no longer mull over when red fabric suddenly invades his sight. His heartbeat quickens as he desperately prays to the forest entity for safety. There was no way an intoxicated young pup like him could outrun a skilled hunter in this state—cornered under a tree and delirious.

A veiled head slowly ducks under the mossy bark, beady eyes peeking from underneath the fabric. The wolf is almost convinced that this was his end. 

The looming figure lowers his red hood, arrows in his rucksack clattering softly when the weight of cloth lands against them. 

A young human. He appears to be similar in age, but starkly different in stature. His long mop of jet black hair springs out of its confines, and the pup can barely make out bright blue eyes and deep rosy cheeks against fair porcelain skin before he finally yields to the effects of the Wolfsbane.

The last thing he hears before he blacks out lulls him into a strange sense of comfort. 

“No father, there’s nothing here.”

When he rouses, he’s greeted with the crown of someone’s head, tending to his bleeding wound.

He instantly recognises the red hood and in a fit of panic, attempts to prop himself up and make a run for it. But his movements are far too slow— an obvious effect of the Wolfsbane, and the painfully dull ache in his right shoulder is acute from where the arrow had struck. 

The boy holds a placating hand on the wolf’s arm when he realises the situation. “Stay still, I’m trying to get this to stay on.” 

The brunette ignores him and shifts around to fully sit up before blinking down blearily at where the hunter is slathering on a handful of crushed Achillea leaves over the deep gash.

He decides that he‘s in no good state to go anywhere for awhile so he settles with watching the boy work in silence, quietly wondering why he had been saved when his intentions had been quite the contrary in the first place.

The handsome stranger in front of him looks no younger than 15, and the longer he stares the more the young pup thinks he’s quite a sight for sore eyes after all.

When the young human leans back to inspect his work, the brunette belatedly notices tears welled up in those beautiful iridescent eyes.

The boy falters for a bit, contemplating, before grabbing the red fabric behind him and ripping off a small strip with his teeth. 

As he reaches out to gingerly wrap the cloth around the brunette’s arm, he whispers quietly.

“I’m sorry,” he tightens the first knot before going another round. “It’s not a very good excuse, but my father made me do it.”

There’s silence at length as the wolf processes the words being said to him. He stares at the hunter’s face; kind and apologetic, not what he would have envisioned considering the nature of the latter’s work. But here he was, patching up a werewolf pup he’d just tried to kill.

The arrow previously lodged in his shoulder was now lying abandoned on the damp patch of dirt by his side and the brunette reaches out for it. “What’s your name?” 

He asks, inspecting the red arrow in his hands curiously. 

“Sehun.” he tightens the last knot and looks up to meet the brunette’s deep brown eyes. 

“And you?”

The pup takes in the hunter’s features appreciatively. Pale skin, thick brows and pink supple lips, he’s absolutely sure he’s never seen a more beautiful human being his entire life.

A deep, warm gold flashes past his eyes and spreads all over from the top of his head to the tips of his fingers. 

The brunette is so enamoured, he doesn’t realise that his anger has simmered down to mild apprehension. He tells the boy his name anyway.

“Kai.”

They stare at each other for some time, questions itching at the back of their young, curious minds.

A familiar howl in the distance breaks the pup out of his reverie, and he hastily moves to tuck the arrow into the back of his pocket before stumbling past the hunter out into the open. 

He halts in front of the tree and glances over his shoulder, determination burning in his dark eyes.

“Next time we cross paths,” he starts and stares down at the hunter through his wet lashes. “you better wish you hadn’t released that arrow.”


	2. Chapter 2

**_TWO_**

The village was one full moon away from Christmas and naturally, the Tavern was packed to the brim.

Kai smiles on like a proud alpha as he watches Lucas successfully charm his way into spending the night with the Innkeeper’s daughter. 

“What a lad,” Mark claps slowly, as he sends a thumbs up in response to the wink he receives from the tall male across the bar. “Are you going to stop him again?”

Kai lets out a soft chuckle, shrugging helplessly. “Young, hot-blooded pups like you are excessively attuned to pretty lasses who prance around looking to be taken for the night. I’m no longer surprised by this behaviour, so let him do what he wants.” 

Mark turns to him with a curious, yet mischevious glint in his bright eyes. “You would know huh, you brute!” He chuckles heartily and curls an arm around the older. “Bet you had them lasses and lads all over you.”

The dimpled smile that appears on the alpha’s face is enough of an answer for him, as Mark slaps him on the back with a proud grin etched onto his face.

The younger’s cheeks are tinged red from all the pints of Ale he’d been drinking, and the alpha indulges his behaviour on days like these. Then again, it was natural for him to take their jokes and pestering in his stride. 

Baekhyun teeters over, hair dishevelled, laces of his tunic undone, and joins them with a blush riding high on his cheeks. “You have no idea how right you are little one.” He swings an arm around the tanned alpha and leans in close. “He’d only allow himself to bed them for one night, leave them high and dry, and by the time the sun rises, poof! He vanishes like the wind.”

The beta nuzzles his nose into the alpha’s neck seeking comfort in his scent amidst the crowded room, clearly more than slightly buzzed. “If I were him, I’d keep going at it till the lass could see no light.”

Mark doubles over in laughter, wheezing as he points towards the bar at the older’s seething mate. “Chanyeol heard that.”

Kai scoffs, pushing the beta off him and sliding out of the booth. “Take care of each other, will you. I’m out hunting.” He makes sure the two are properly slumped over one another before he makes a move for the door. 

The crisp forest air hits different this time of the year. Kai feels a prickle on his warm skin as a gust of cold wind kisses his bare body. He chucks his shirt into a random shrub and breaks out into a sprint.

Adrenaline seeps into his muscles, spine stretching as he leaps over a boulder and shifts fully into his wolf form.

Redness clouds his vision, and he blinks to adjust to the darkness. The breeze is sharp and freezing, and the dry leaves crunch underneath him with every step he takes.

There’s movement on his right and the alpha catches it instantly, slowing to a halt, eyes scanning and ears perked.

Judging from the speed and size at a glance, it could’ve been a boar. If he were any luckier, perhaps a deer. 

It takes a bit of prowling before he finally sees it— a brown fox sniffing curiously down a rabbit hole. Kai knows there’s no use doing all that when the burrow’s been long abandoned.

The fox seems to have it figured out as it backs away and continues sniffing out the area. 

The alpha crouches low onto the ground, setting his sights on the target and ready to pounce. Just as he launches, the bush behind him shakes and it clearly gives his presence away.

The fox makes a run for it and Kai gives chase. 

Gaining speed, Kai drops his jaw and closes the distance. He’s almost caught up— but doesn’t anticipate the moment his paw catches onto something hard and sends him flying up miles into the air.

He feels a deep rumble from his chest as he wriggles around pathetically, whining when he finally realises he’s caught in a trap.

Kai wonders if his howls would be loud enough for the pack to hear from the Tavern, but also if it’s worth the danger of riling the villagers up. 

Their heightened sensitivity to wolf business resurfaced when a few of the local farmer’s sheep had gone missing the past week.

They’d found three bloodied sheep near the outskirts, ripped apart and gutted. Definitely the work of a lycan, and it was clear as day to them as it was to the villagers. 

So Kai decides it’s a risk he’s not willing to take.

Helpless, he slowly shifts back into his human form and tugs at the mesh with force. He heaves out a deep sigh when nothing budges and resigns to dangling from above. 

It’s new—he thinks; the trap. It hadn’t been set up when he patrolled along the borders this morning with Chanyeol. Wolf territory was something the villagers knew never to cross when it comes to hunting.

Whoever did this, set it up knowing exactly where the boundaries started and ended.

In the dead silence of the night, the sound of an arrow slicing through the air out of nowhere catches him off guard.

It cuts through the tight netting and loosens hold. Kai slips right through the ropes, falling onto the ground with a heavy thud. 

“You should watch where you’re going,” he hears a voice holler from the top of the tree, followed by a soft thump. “Wolf.”

The rage filling his head is hot and heavy, it rushes through his veins like whitewater as Kai heaves himself up and swivels around slowly.

His brain falters when the familiar scent hits his nose and recognition flashes past his eyes. 

He drinks in the sight of the handsome man standing before him, clad in a deep crimson riding hood. 

Sehun. 

It’s been years since he’d last seen the human, once earthy scent now enriched with something much sweeter, like an apple tree in full bloom.

The male stands tall, slightly towering, shoulders wide and sharp jaw set. His pale skin remains just as he remembers and dark eyebrows still angry.

Kai feels a heavy punch in his gut when he notices the change in Sehun’s expression. 

“You,” the hoarseness of his voice betrays his emotions. “What are you doing here?”

Sehun calmly lowers his hood, bright blue eyes reflecting the glow from the waxing moon and Kai revels in them like he’s never forgotten.

“A little hummingbird told to me about a rogue on the loose in good old Daggerhorn,” his voice is soft and airy, as if it was carefully carried by the wind. “stealing sheep and leaving them dead and bloodied in the woods.”

Kai rubs at a sore spot on his jaw. “So you set up a trap in my territory?”

“It’s not your territory when your scent markers only start beyond that cedar.” he nods his head at the tall tree a few metres behind them.

“Besides, I was testing it on the fox. It isn’t my fault you ran right into it.”

Kai studies his passive expression closely, letting out a soft sigh when the corner of Sehun’s brow mildly twitches. “You knew I was coming.”

Sehun stares back quietly, expression stoic and unnerving. 

“I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t you.” He whispers under his breath as he turns his back towards the wolf, swiping out a dagger from his belt and cutting up the remains of his steel netting. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a little bit conversation heavy but bear with me please

**_ THREE_**

Irene nibbles on her lower lip anxiously. She checks her watch and continues to pace in front of the door. He should have been back hours ago. 

Suho pads down the stairs with a frustrated sigh. 

“Any luck?” she asks, eyebrows creased in worry.

“Still can’t hear him. Something must’ve shut him down. I’ll go scent him out.”

Just as the male pulls a shirt over his head, their ears perk up at the familiar pattering of feet growing closer to the house. Irene yanks the door open and heaves a sigh of relief when her eyes land on the young pup running out of the thick forest, into the clearing. 

“Finally.”

He slows down to a jog when he notices a stern pair of eyes behind her, scrutinising the makeshift bandage across his shoulder. 

Irene pulls him into a tight hug the moment he’s within arms reach and the young alpha instantly whimpers at the pressure against his wound.

“Where have you been! I told you to get blackberries and instead you go running out into open territory?” 

Kai stays silent, keeping his eyes low as Suho quietly walks over to them. He feels a warm hand cup his face, and peers up at his brother warily.

He stares silently.

“You imprinted.” the older beta concludes as he inspects the younger’s golden-rimmed orbs. The young brunette never could get such secrets past his brother. Perhaps with his parents and sisters. But never his brother. Not even when he tries to sever the link. 

Something about their bond made them inseparable since the day he came into this world. Even when Suho had gotten married and moved into their new home, Kai followed him everywhere like a lost puppy. And in moments like these, he wished he never did. 

“You can’t tell dad.” he blurts, swiping at the older’s hand. 

“Why not? Does it have something to do with that nasty gash on your shoulder?” the older counters, moving closer to inspect the wound. Kai swipes at him again. 

“I tripped, i’m fine. It’ll heal.”

“Your blood is soaking through that cloth. You’re not fine.” Suho’s eyes linger on the fabric before he gingerly reaches out to peel the bandage off. He winces at the sight of the wound. “Sit down, i need to stitch that up.”

He walks around the kitchen to get his medical supplies. Irene observes the younger in silence for a few beats before she speaks. “Why did you shut us out like that? We were calling for you through the link.” 

Kai looks up at his brother’s mate sullenly as she rubs his arm. Her kind, shiny eyes elicit a response within him, as his wolf purrs in contentment. “I wanted some time alone. Didn’t want you guys to hear my thoughts. I swear I was looking for those blackberries.” 

She guides him over to a wooden chair as her mate prepares the needle. “Tell us what happened, Kai. We just want to know so it doesn’t happen again.” A cool swab of alcohol brushes across his wound and he clenches his jaw at the sharp sting. 

He closes his eyes and looks away as his brother starts to stitch him up. It was no use telling them lies. Suho was a trained physician. Kai figured, the moment his eyes landed on the wound, his brother could’ve easily guessed. 

He sighs in defeat. “I was looking for those blackberries. But I just— I got distracted, I didn’t hear or sense anything out of place so I let my guard down. And when I did, that stupid arrow came outta nowhere and pierced through my shoulder.” He grits his teeth and breathes heavily through his nose as the older pulls particularly hard. 

Suho abruptly stills and stares up at his younger brother in disbelief. “You imprinted on a hunter?” Every word is enunciated with dread and his mate offers him comfort with a clasp on his shoulder. 

“Let him finish his story, honey.” she turns back to the young pup with a tight smile. “Go on, Kai.” 

The younger exhales shakily, eyes casted down onto the floor and cheeks heating up with shame. “I didn’t mean to, it’s just— he came back. To remove the arrow and tend to my wound. When I looked at him, it just... happened.”

Suho lifted an eyebrow as he rose to his full height, reaching for a clean gauze. “The hunter came back to take care of your wound after he shot you with a Wolfsbane-filled silver arrow at full accuracy?” 

“Believe me when I say I wanted to laugh too.” Kai scoffs in mild amusement. ”There was just something about him... so familiar and comforting. It felt weird. Kind of like the time you told me I could use you as a dummy for training so dad doesn’t punish me.” 

Irene tenderly cards through the younger’s dark, damp locks. “Did you get his name at least?” 

Kai looks up at her with a bashful grin on his face. “Sehun.” he glances down at the limp red fabric on the floor with a sad smile. “His name’s Sehun.”

Breathing in the stillness, he listens to the gentle swaying of the trees. He follows the movement with the tip of his arrow, eyes tightly shut.

“Purify the elements, my son.” the quiet voice resonates through the morning calm. “Hold them in your grasp.”

A deep breath. Lithe fingers tighten over the nock briefly before the string snaps in release. The arrow slices through the thick fog soundlessly. 

He hits the target, slightly off bulls-eye but close. There’s a heavy sigh on his right and Sehun glances at his feet in slight disappointment.

“Your mind is weak. Keep at it. You‘ll leave when the fog settles.” The older hunter speaks as he steps around the boy and disappears through the foliage. 

He never asked for this. He never wanted to become a hunter, never wanted to hurt animals—hurt people. How he wishes he could just get out of this misery. 

The young brunette rubs the glistening tears away from his eyes and straightens his back. He closes his eyes and concentrates again. Only on the movement of the trees and the cool breeze blowing softly against his cheek.

There’s a sudden rustling on his left. His ears perk up at the sound, high alert. He traces the movement—string drawn tight. 

The rustling stops. Sehun’s eyes fly wide open and there, leaning against the bark of an old cedar tree is the same boy he’d encountered a few days ago. 

He doesn’t have the will to restrain himself from admiring the wolf pup. Broad shoulders, deep hooded eyes and plush pink lips— just as gorgeous as Sehun remembers him to be. The sunlight filters through the trees, illuminating his figure and shining brightly against his warm golden skin. Sehun’s breath hitches as he lowers his bow. 

The boy looks on amusedly, taking a bite out of a red apple. “Not gonna release that one?” The brunette flushes slightly when the ends of Kai’s mouth tug into a smirk. 

“You said I’d regret it.”

“Of course you would. You missed me once, you sure won’t miss me again.” Kai scoffs, taking another bite of his apple as he approaches the raven-haired male. He stops just shy of metre away from him, eyes alert. “I’m saying you’d regret it if you killed me.”

Sehun quirks a curious brow. “Why?” 

The brunette chuckles lightly and shrugs, taking one last bite of the apple before tossing it onto the ground. “Your posture’s wrong. Your elbow needs to extend a little less so you don’t keep drifting over to the left.” Kai tugs on Sehun’s arm to bring up the bow and taps on his elbow. “Less strength here more on your forearm.” 

Sehun stares after him as the wolf pup picks up the apple again and saunters back towards the cedar tree. He leans his back against it, balancing the remains of the apple on his head with an air of cockiness. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he nods at the hunter. “Shoot the apple.”

The younger lowers his bow and glares at the brunette in disbelief. “Are you out of your mind? How can I shoot when you’re standing right there.”

Kai chuckles again. “That’s the point. Now shoot.” He stares back at Sehun with a dull look in his face. 

“No, I can’t do it.” The hunter sighs and looks away. “I can’t shoot you again.”

“And you won’t. Just trust me.” Kai rolls his eyes and relaxes further into the tree.

Sehun’s heart skips a beat under Kai’s soft gaze. He takes a deep breath and steels himself. He aims accurately, feels the breeze brush past his fingertips and closes his eyes. He releases the nock and hears a deep grunt. When he opens his eyes again, he sees Kai doubled over, apple on the ground. 

Sehun runs over, worry clouding his senses. “Oh no, I told you this was a bad idea. Where did it hit?” 

Kai glances up at him with a playful grin. He points up towards the tree and Sehun follows the movement to see where his arrow had landed. Right on the bulls-eye. 

“But—“ he starts as he stares back down at the brunette. “the apple—”

The wolf takes a bite out of the apple and flashes him a boyish smile. “You think I’d waste a good apple like that?” 

Sehun frowns in distaste. “That’s disgusting.” He rises to his feet and brushes the dirt off his pretty pants. Kai subtly checks him out from head to toe. Dressed in the town’s finest leather, he must‘ve had a rich family. Well, of course they were rich. His father was a hunter after all. 

Kai nods at the boy. “What’s with the cloak?”

Sehun shoots him a weak glare before turning his back on the brunette. “It’s a riding hood, not a cloak.” 

“Kay, what’s with the riding hood?”

The male in question reaches into his quiver for another bow and inspects the tip. “It gets chilly here in Daggerhorn.” He lines up the arrow in his bow and chances a glance at the wolf pup. Despite his rugged nature, mussed up hair, unlaced ivory tunic stained with patches of dirt and cheeks slightly pink from the morning chill, Sehun thinks he‘s never seen such beauty in an entire being. 

This was not what a monster looked like. His father never understood— could never understand that these creatures were not the monsters he claimed them to be. Sehun would never believed it. 

Staring at Kai in front of him now, he looked just like any other teenage boy—perhaps blessed with a tad bit more ethereality than the average joe, but a boy nonetheless. 

The ends of Kai’s lips curl up into a smirk when he notices the younger’s lingering gaze. Sehun expects more teasing about his hood, since everyone he’d met seemed to hate everything about it anyway.

But Kai silently pulls out an apple from his back pocket and tosses it over to the brunette.

“Alright, stay warm then.” 

He turns on his heel and leaves the younger dumbfounded and mildly starstruck. 

Sehun wonders when he’ll see the wolf again. 


	4. Chapter 4

**_FOUR_**

Kai stares at the outstretched hand— full of blackberries, in front of him. He trails his gaze up to meet the hunter dead in the eye with a raised brow. 

Sehun nods his head at the brunette. “Your favourite right?”

A beat of silence stretches over as they study each other. 

“You poison them?” Kai raises his eyebrows with a playful lilt.

The hunter scoffs incredulously, popping one into his mouth as he climbs over and sinks down onto the fallen trunk next to him.

“Now I want to.”

Sehun watches on quietly as Kai tosses another log into the fire. He looks up at the peaceful night sky, eyes sparkling prettily underneath the moonlight. 

“The stars used to be brighter out here. You remember—when we first met?” he looks over and catches the alpha’s golden eyes gleaming softly in the muted darkness.

“Yeah,” Kai breathes. “your hair was longer.”

Sehun averts his gaze overhead, squinting at the tiny lights blinking in the distance.

Winterfest preparations were in full swing, and excited townsfolk never missed the opportunity to decorate the town with fairy lights to welcome the new season. There was a staunch belief that the snow was a blessing from Mother Nature, the Goddess Holle would birth new life into their precious soil for good harvest. 

But for Sehun and Kai alike, winter only meant tragedy.

Death. 

The pair revel in silence of the night, basking in each other’s warm presence. It’s been much too long since Sehun had left, but Kai’s wolf still hums in quiet satisfaction when it senses his mate. 

A strong gust of cold wind blows through them and a visible shiver racks through Sehun’s body. He tightens his clutch on his hood.

With a click of his tongue, Kai shrugs off his woollen jacket and drapes it over the younger. “Why do you still wear that damn thing when it doesn’t even keep you warm?” 

Piercing blue eyes glare up at him in pointed annoyance when he pulls back. “You of all people know exactly why.”

Kai sighs deeply, leaning back against the damp log with a contemplative look on his face. “It’s not safe for you here if you’re gonna keep snooping around like that. It takes a no-brainer to recognise the country’s most notorious Lycan hunter the moment they catch sight of that stupid crimson cloak.” 

“It’s not stupid. It’s the only way my mother will—“ Sehun shuts his mouth as soon as he opens it, knowing fully well the other already knew exactly what was on his mind. 

“Of course you came back for that.” The words taste bitter on Kai’s tongue, and the brunette feels guilt blooming in his chest when he starts to recall the rest of his childhood. He sucks in the cold air through his teeth and exhales. “Sorry, I didn’t mean for it to come out that way.” 

“No, you have every right to be mad at me.” A sad frown plays on the younger’s lips as he reaches out to touch Kai’s warm cheek. 

He’s always been that way— warm, even when the biting cold engulfs his entire being and numbs his senses, Kai had always brought Sehun warmth. 

“I don’t deserve your kindness.”

“You know I didn’t mean it like that, Sehun.”

Kai gingerly crowds into his space with a small sigh. “I told you I’d wait for you to come back no matter what. That was just me being selfish, I’m sorry.”

The corners of Sehun’s lips finally pull into a gentle smile. “You haven’t changed a bit, huh?” 

It’s been a while since he’s felt it, but Kai’s body thrums at the familiar dull ache blooming in his chest. His ears feel warm and his breathing labours as his gaze run along the sharp edges of the younger’s jawline, revelling down the smooth column of his neck. He stares at the slow bob of Sehun’s adam’s apple when he swallows. His body moves before his mind can react, and before he knows it, Kai lands a soft peck onto Sehun’s cold, chapped lips. 

He pulls away instinctively when his brain finally catches up. Sehun’s glassy blue eyes stare back into his own in mild surprise.

“Sorry, I—“ Kai clears his throat, rubbing the back of his neck in attempt to soothe his embarrassment. He averts his gaze from the human altogether. “I don’t know what came over me.” 

Reality finally dawns on him and Kai rises to his feet abruptly, turning his back against ash blonde hunter with a heavy sigh. Dry leaves crunch beneath his boots as he starts off with a stride. “If you need me, you know where to find me.” 

“Kai,” Suho tugs the blanket harshly. “Wake up we need to go deliver firewood.” The older receives a weak grumble in response. 

“Kim Kai.” 

Silence.

The next wake up call comes in the form of a pillow pummelling down the younger in heavy blows. That finally gets him up and kicking. He angrily tackles the beta onto the floor, and they jostle for a minute before Kai gains the upper hand and flips them over. He sprawls flat over his brother in a tired huff. “Don’t wanna.”

“We gotta. Dad’s orders.” Biting cold autumn-winter cusp mornings meant more orders for firewood at the doorstep, which kinda bummed him out. Firewood always gave him splinters.

“Hey...” Suho stops folding the blankets for a second to lean in close, taking a whiff of Kai’s forehead. “you smell different.”

Kai raises his arm to sniff himself. Nothing different going on there. “You’re just getting old I think.”

Suho whacks him in the head and pushes him out the door. “You better stop stealing all those apples from the yard, you’re starting to smell like them.”

**Author's Note:**

> hi everyone! i’m finally back and i’ve been working on this story for quite some time, thinking or not whether to put it up since i wasn’t sure if i would be able to commit to finishing a chaptered fic. but i’m glad to say that i have most of the chapters down so i’ll start posting it up when i have time away from uni and all! it won’t be a very long chaptered series but i’m not sure how i want to break the story up as of now, so i’ll figure it out along the way. 
> 
> i hope you guys like it and if you wanna come chat with me, you can find me on twitter: @sekaikinks ♡


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